Kevin over at Fortworthology writes that Fort Worth South Inc, a nonprofit working to revitalize south Fort Worth, sought to increase and improve bicycle parking in their area. They collaborated on a bicycle parking plan, just received approval from city council, and are now cleared to fund the plan with TIF (Tax Increment Financing) district money.
What does this have to do with Denton, you ask?
One, they’re smartly installing staple racks, which cyclists love, and are VASTLY superior to the “cost-efficient” serpentine/wave racks you commonly see in Denton. While wave racks are often touted as holding X number of bikes, you’ll never actually see that number of bikes on one because they all get stuck together. Anyone who’s parked a bike at crowded UNT wave racks knows that all too well.
Two, they’re using TIF district money to, well, improve the district. That’s how it works. You improve an area, and the improvement hopefully brings gains that offset the cost of the improvements. I bring this up because as the Dinerstein Corp just received approval to develop a $30,000,000 project on Fry St, which is said to bring in $600,000 in yearly tax revenue. Think that could do amazing positive things to transform the neighborhood? Yeah, me too. I’m not saying it has to necessarily be a TIF, but we need to find ways to encourage and capture specific tax income and use it wisely, instead of the money flowing into centralized coffers and out to projects on the sprawling fringes of town. Western Blvd by the airport = $10 million. Planned S. Bonnie Brae expansion = $50 million (10 of which the city will pay). Let’s focus a mere tiny, tiny, tiny amount in comparison towards the center of town where people already live. Bike racks are cheap, y’all.